Screw Escape is a disassembly logic-puzzle or screw-puzzle game. It requires the player to reposition screws on a board to remove metal plates of various sizes and perform other tasks. They must complete each task before time runs out on a red countdown clock to the right of a stopwatch icon.
Each level of the game features a brain teaser with one or more plates, screws, washer rings or other objects. The player might deal with long, narrow plates or short, wide ones. As they progress through the levels, they face increasingly complex and intricate arrangements of plates and screws. The solution difficulty level increases as well.
For example, the player must initially transfer screws to openly displayed holes to drop one or more plates from a board. Over time, the game requires them to uncover hidden holes, reuse holes, reposition the same screw or screws several times, and unlock screws and holes by swinging a plate through a floating key.
Screw Escape offers the player several tools, such as reset, answer, skip and punch options. For example, the skip option allows the player to skip an extremely difficult level. The punch option allows the player to destroy a screw and remove it from the playfield entirely. The player must watch advertisement videos to use these tools.
